Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 169 Some people still oppose sending troops
The next day.

Afterwards.

Wenhua Hall.

"Who has more to say?"

Zhu Di's sharp eyes swept across the faces of King Gu, King Dai, and King Ning. After waiting for a few breaths and seeing no one speaking, he said loudly: "There is one thing I must explain to you clearly, so as not to worry about it in the future." Some people say that I am unkind and unkind."

"Just now in the morning, I said that the army assisting the northwest this time, in addition to the official transportation of military rations and baggage, there are also three auxiliary transportation routes for military rations. Each route requires a quartermaster to be responsible."

"I have appointed you three to serve as quartermasters for these three routes respectively. I hope that after this experience, you will be able to shoulder the important task of going to sea to build a country, expand territory, and secure the country. Therefore, no matter who you are, you will make mistakes. Punishment, merit will be rewarded!”

After sitting at the table, Zhu Di's words were resounding.

After hearing this, everyone in the hall had different reactions.

Most of the seven cabinet advisers had an indifferent attitude, while Prince Zhu Gaoxu was vaguely worried about the safety of the three kings.

As for Gu Wang Zhu Su, Ning Wang Zhu Quan, and Dai Wang Zhu Gui, they are all smart people.

They understood that Zhu Di's move had three meanings.

The first level is to deter other restless feudal lords.

If the feudal kings in Beijing are disobedient, Zhu Di can manipulate them at will before changing the title.

The second level sets a tone for increasing troops in Hami and attacking Beiyuan, making those who plan to fish in troubled waters to gain qualifications and reputation have some concerns.

Because the emperor sent all the princes of Ming Dynasty to transport military supplies, others should not think about fighting a smooth battle and gaining military glory.

The emperor's will is very clear. He will regain Hami and put an end to the chaos in the northwest!

On the third floor, take a look at which officials in the court are secretly colluding with these three unruly princes.

"Of course, in order to prevent you from running out of energy, I will assign at least two assistant officers to each of you."

Zhu Di put on an amiable smile and said: "These assistant officers are all my personal guards. They can not only assist you in transporting military rations, but also protect your safety in times of crisis."

"I thank you, Your Majesty."

The three kings bowed and bowed.

"Let's all go down."

Zhu Di waved his hand.

"I'm waiting to retire."

The three kings bowed and retreated.

After a while.

"Your Majesty, the Qin Tian Supervisor Zheng Jiuzheng requested to see you."

Li Xing entered the palace and reported.

"Pass him in."

Zhu Di frowned.

He knew why Zeng Jiuzheng, who was over sixty years old, came here.

"The old minister pays his respects to His Majesty."

After Zeng Jiucheng entered the palace, he bowed and saluted.

"Flat body."

Zhu Di raised his hand and said.

It was already late autumn, and on such a cool day, he preferred to take a few cabinet advisers or Prince Zhu Gaoxu to Tianjie Temple to climb high and look far away, to discuss some important matters with Master Dao Yan.

Instead of sitting in the Wenhua Hall, listening to the [-]-year-old Qintian Supervisor Zheng Zeng [-]% explain to him the theory of heaven-human induction, in order to oppose the imperial court's increase in troops to Hami and attack Beiyuan.

Zhu Di's reputation has soared since he issued the order to never increase taxes. With Zheng He's return this year, it proved that the policy of opening up the sea was a wise feat, and his reputation has risen again. Some imperial students even said that he was the birth of a holy king. .

It can be said that Zhu Di, now 42 years old, has become a very powerful emperor.

However, even so, he had already issued an order to increase troops in Hami and attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but he still encountered opposition from a few courtiers. The representative figure was Zeng Jiucheng, the Qintian Supervisor with white hair and beard.

Zeng Jiuzheng knew that he could not refute the emperor in front of the civil and military officials of the court, but as an upright minister, he felt it was necessary to advise Zhu Di, so after retreating from the court, he went to the Wenhua Palace to see Zhu Di.

Since the prince Zhu Gaoxu, seven cabinet advisers, and the prince-in-law Mei Yin, who concurrently held the doctorate of Jinling Changke Academy, were also in the palace, Zeng Jiuzheng kept his story short and hoped that Zhu Di would think twice before acting.

Zeng Jiuzheng's reason was simple. All the prefectures and counties in the north reported seeing a partial solar eclipse half a month ago. According to the theory of heaven-human induction, God should hope that the emperor would not use weapons rashly, meaning to increase the number of troops in Hami and attack Beiyuan.

"Your Majesty, please think twice."

Zeng Jiuzheng bowed again.

Zhu Di was quite dissatisfied and said: "Once the edict has been issued, how can it be withdrawn due to a solar eclipse? This is unprecedented!"

Zeng Jiucheng did not dare to say anything.

The imperial court increased its troops to the northwest this time, with more than 1 troops. Many of the selected guardsmen and mid-level and high-level generals were young rising stars. Many of the middle-level generals were from the emperor's personal guards.

According to the practice of the Hongwu Dynasty, in order to show favor, the emperor issued many edicts to accept the descendants of soldiers who died in the war into hereditary military positions in the guards, taught them various military skills, and selected the best ones to be included in the twelve guards of the emperor's personal army. .

This was also the early years of the Ming Dynasty. The descendants of fallen soldiers were selected as the emperor's personal guards as a symbol of continuing military tradition and family honor.

Therefore, in the morning meeting just now, there were still only a few courtiers who opposed the increase of troops in Hami and the attack on Beiyuan.

The logic of heaven-human induction is currently impeccable and has no loopholes, because no one can prove that this theory is wrong.

Therefore, in the past dynasties, when the emperor encountered some special celestial phenomena, he would often use symbolic edicts to seek talents, or ask hundreds of officials to write letters stating the pros and cons of the court's governance to influence public opinion about the celestial phenomena.

As a time traveler, Zhu Gaoxu did not find it funny that Zeng Jiucheng was superstitious about celestial phenomena. Instead, he felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.

In this era, people like Zeng Jiuzheng who are superstitious about celestial phenomena are not a minority in the court. Even if we look around the world, at least half of the people will be in awe of celestial phenomena and believe that they have special significance.

It is true that the ancients were superstitious about celestial phenomena, but there were also people who pursued the truth, such as Mei Yin, a Confucian of the generation.

At this time, Mei Yin, the prince-in-law, who was born in the same year as Zhu Di, cheered up and said vigorously: "Your Majesty, I believe that the movement of the sun and the moon has its own course, just like flowers blooming and falling, spring goes and autumn comes. , the eclipses of the sun and the moon also have their own patterns to be found.”

"May I ask Dr. Mei, as you said, can you possibly guess when the next solar eclipse will occur?"

Zeng Jiuzheng asked sincerely in a tone of asking for advice.

He did this not because he was hypocritical, but because Mei Yin was a famous contemporary scholar who was also involved in astronomy and calendars, and had had academic exchanges with him before.

When Mei Yin heard this, he was speechless for a moment. Although he had been studying the movement of the sun and the moon for several years and had a good understanding of the eclipses of the sun and the moon, he had no practical research results, let alone determined the next solar eclipse through mental calculations. time.

Seeing that Mei Yin was in trouble, Zhu Gaoxu came to help: "Although the Prince Consort is proficient in astronomy, he is also a doctor of the academy. He has many affairs and will inevitably lack energy. It is estimated that it will take some time." He is the dean of Jinling Changke Academy. , of course, we know that Mei Yin mainly learned astronomical theory by studying the works of Jia Kui of the Later Han Dynasty.

The ninth generation ancestor of Jia Kui was Jia Yi, the author of "Guo Qin Lun".

As for Jia Kui, he was a famous Confucian scholar and astronomer in the Later Han Dynasty. He wrote more than a million words of exegesis and discussion of classics and difficulties. He was called "Tongru" at that time. His disciple Xu Shen was the author of "Shuowen Jiezi".

Jia Kui made a bronze zodiacal sphere based on the armillary sphere of the former Han Dynasty, which can determine the degree of the ecliptic. Zhang Heng, who was later known as the "Sage of Science", created a relatively complete armillary sphere based on Jia Kui's bronze zodiacal sphere.

Mei Yin generally inherited this theory from Jia Kui. He combined it with the "round earth theory" that appeared in the BC Yuan Dynasty. Under the intentional guidance of Zhu Gaoxu, he had already led a group of students to develop a model of the operation of the solar system.

"Your Majesty, I will be able to calculate it in three days."

Mei Yin bowed and saluted Zhu Di.

Zhu Di looked at Mei Yin, who was slightly hunched over, and said with relief: "Dr. Mei, I will give you ten days to borrow the books in the main hall."

The next moment, his eyes flew directly to Zeng Jiuzheng's face, and then said: "Qintian Supervisor must actively cooperate with Dr. Mei and proactively provide brief history books related to the solar eclipse."

Zeng Jiucheng bowed in response.

After a while, Zhu Di looked around at the two closest cabinet advisers, Fang Xiaoru and Huang Huai, who had their eyes lowered, and asked softly: "Do you have anything to say?"

The two of them didn't say a word when they heard the words.

The other five consultants naturally didn't want to talk too much at this time.

Zhu Di looked at Zeng Jiuzheng again and asked, "Does Qing Zeng have anything else to report?"

He said this because he wanted to tell Zeng Jiuzheng, who was in his sixties, that he could retire if nothing happened.

After Zeng Jiuzheng hesitated for a moment, he resolutely bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the astronomical horoscope says: 'When the sun eclipses, it is at the mouth (xi), which is Baolu, and it is the main convergence.' Baolu is the symbol in the palace, and convergence is Your Majesty must not ignore signs of greed and jealousy!"

Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu had read quite a lot of Confucian classics as the emperor's grandson after time travel, and he could basically understand what Zeng Jiucheng meant.

Zeng Jiuzheng meant that according to astronomical astrology theory, the shape and characteristics of this solar eclipse indicate that some jealousy and hatred will occur in the harem in the future.

Although Queen Xu was still alive, Zhu Di had many concubines when he was King of Yan, and most of them had been promoted to concubines by this time.

And after Zhu Di continues to recover, who can say for sure whether someone will give birth to a prince for him in the future?
"Jealousy exists in everyone, but does jealousy not end in the palace?"

Zhu Di didn't want to waste too much time on such a far-fetched matter, and directly expressed his inner impatience in words.

"Your Majesty, think twice!" Zeng Jiucheng bowed to the ground.

In fact, Zhu Di understood that Zeng Jiucheng also had good intentions, otherwise he would not risk annoying the emperor by making repeated remarks.

"Get up! I will treat the affairs of the harem with caution, but we will discuss the solar eclipse in ten days. That's it for today. There is no need to discuss it further."

Zhu Di took a deep breath, suppressed the unknown fire in his heart, and spoke slowly.

He can yell at the courtiers and be arbitrary, but he must maintain the image of a holy king who accepts advice with an open mind. This has always been his character, and he does not want to destroy it unless absolutely necessary.

After Zeng Jiuzheng stood up, Zhu Di replied: "Qintian Supervisor Zeng Jiuzheng dared to directly remonstrate, and he was rewarded with a reward of [-] yuan."

"Your Majesty, I am the Heavenly Supervisor of the Qin Dynasty. It is my duty to explain the astronomical phenomena and advise the monarch according to the astronomical will. It is inappropriate to offend the power of heaven. Your Majesty not only does not blame me, but also rewards me. If I accept your majesty, If you receive a reward, wouldn’t that mean that I have become a villain who is willing to speak out just to get a reward?”

Zeng Jiucheng bowed and said.

When Zhu Di heard this, he just said with a cold face: "In that case, the reward will be waived!"

"Your Majesty Shengming."

Zeng Jiucheng bowed respectfully and said: "Wei Chen, please retire."

Two quarters later.

Kang Ping led Mei Yin to Chunhe Hall on Zhu Gaoxu's order.

"Meet Your Highness!"

After Mei Yin entered the hall, he walked forward for more than ten steps, and then bowed down.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu had left the throne and came to the middle hall, where he helped Mei Yin up before she fell down.

"Although etiquette cannot be abolished, Dr. Mei once taught me a class and is considered half of my teacher. Now some false etiquette is dispensed with."

Zhu Gaoxu held Mei Yin's cold hands and said.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Mei Yin was very moved, her face suddenly turned red, and she responded with a trembling voice: "Your Highness has summoned me, but is it for the Houfeng Earthquake Ceremony?"

"No hurry, sit down and talk."

Zhu Gaoxu saw that Mei Yin's court clothes were seriously faded, so he ordered Kang Ping, who was standing by his side, "Go get a new set of court clothes for Dr. Mei."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Mei Yin said with great emotion.

Zhu Gaoxu motioned Mei Yin to sit down and asked casually: "How is the seismograph?"

"Thanks to His Highness's kindness, and not as a mean person, I asked Your Majesty to appoint me as a doctor, and then ordered me to have full authority to make a seismograph. Over the past few years, I have referred to His Highness's suggestion and made a seismometer. It is made of fine copper, with a diameter of eight feet and a lid. Uplift... However, the subtlety of the seismograph is that even though one dragon moves the machine, the seven heads do not move. If you look for its direction, you can know the location of the earthquake. Unfortunately, it is precisely this point that I have not been able to realize."

As Mei Yin spoke, his face gradually darkened, and his self-blame was very obvious.

Although Mei Yin is a famous contemporary Confucian and was called a child prodigy when he was young, he is not a saint born with knowledge. He also has his own pursuits and persistence, and understanding astronomy is his biggest pursuit besides studying.

Mei Yin is 42 years old. Since receiving various supports from Zhu Gaoxu three years ago, his various achievements in astronomy have probably surpassed all the ancients before him. Even the armillary sphere created by Zhang Heng in history has been replaced by him. Recovery was done.

At first, Mei Yin was able to achieve such results and had no regrets in his life. However, after seeing the drawings of the seismometer, this instrument became his new pursuit.

"The nine-story platform was built from tired soil. Technological innovation does not happen in a day. There will always be a day when the seismometer will be successfully manufactured. Dr. Mei does not have to blame himself."

After receiving the prince's comfort, Mei Yin's complexion looked much better and regained some of its rosy color.

Zhu Gaoxu knew that the reason for the decline of the Ming Dynasty was not only "political corruption and high land concentration" summarized in later textbooks, but also an external factor that cannot be ignored - natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes!

He knew very well that in order to weaken the impact of natural disasters on the Ming Dynasty, in addition to establishing an efficient disaster relief mechanism.

The first thing to do was to change people's superstitious understanding of natural disasters, so he asked Zhu Di to appoint Mei Yin, a master of Confucianism, as a doctor in the academy so that he could research seismometers that could predict earthquakes.

Zhu Gaoxu was eager for success and forgot that a seismometer was not an ordinary thing that could be made in a few years. Historically, Zhang Heng also summed up the experience of his predecessors and created the seismograph when he was in his 50s. Mei Yin was only 42 years old at this time. .

"As far as I know, the academy has recruited many young talents this year. Dr. Mei can choose some of them as disciples, train them, and serve as assistants. I heard that Zhang Xin from Nanyang Xi'e is quite good and talented. Dr. Mei has Kong Ke can give this boy a test and see how he is."

"Here."

"Dr. Mei, we can put aside the seismograph for now. Predicting the solar eclipse is the key right now. I hope Dr. Mei can build an instrument to simulate the movement of the sun and the moon and deduce the causes of solar eclipses!"

PS: Thanks to Zhongyou 1104181817, Linyun Jushi, Xiaoyao Daqian, [TK421], Brother Zichuan, Night Under the Starry Sky 69, Immortal Emperor and other veterans for their recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)